The present invention relates to a new and improved method of, and apparatus for, forming individual stacks from an endless web composed of web sections or portions which are interconnected with one another.
Generally speaking, the stacking method and apparatus of the present development is of the type wherein the stacks are formed from the interconnected web sections or portions of a web, the web being folded in a zig-zag configuration at the connection locations between the web portions and the thus folded stack is deposited upon a support element.
There are already known to the art numerous constructions of stacking devices, such as exemplified by way of example in German Patent Publication Nos. 2,218,535, 1,611,776, 1,145,637, 1,116,239, 1,018,432, 2,533,434, 2,219,683, German Patent Nos. 931,230 and 921,154, German Petty Pat. No. 1,911,032 and Austrian Pat. Nos. 340,959 and 330,561.
In particular, in Swiss Pat. No. 545,698 and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,639 there is disclosed an apparatus wherein a duplicating set or carbon set, in other words a multicopy writing surface assembly, is adhesively bonded at each second web portion or section of a cyclically advanced carrier or support web. Thereafter, the support web is folded in a zig-zag configuration and deposited upon a deposit or support table and the carbon sets or the like come to bear upon one another. If after reaching a certain stack height it is desired to remove the stack from the support or deposit table, then it is necessary to accomplish a separation or cutting operation between the uppermost support web section of the finished stack and the next following support web section or portion. Since, as already mentioned, the support web is cyclically moved it is possible to manually carry out such cutting or separation operation, but as a result the output or production capacity of the equipment is limited.